January 15, 2012
Hashish [ha-sheesh] is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves.
Hashish is often a paste-like substance with varying hardness and pliability, its color most commonly light to dark brown but varying toward green, yellow, black or red. Hashish is heated in a pipe, hookah, bong, bubbler, vaporizer, hot knife, smoked in joints mixed with cannabis buds or tobacco, or cooked in foods.
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December 29, 2011
Hair of the dog is a colloquial expression in the English language predominantly used to refer to alcohol that is consumed with the aim of lessening the effects of a hangover. The expression originally referred to a method of treatment of a rabid dog bite by placing hair from the dog in the wound. The use of the phrase as a metaphor for a hangover treatment dates back at least to the time of Shakespeare. It is possible that the phrase was used to justify an existing practice, ‘similia similibus curantur’ (Latin: ‘like cures like’), which dates back to ancient Greece.
Similarly, in the 1930’s cocktails known as Corpse Revivers were served by hotel staff to guests ailing from too much drink.
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December 15, 2011
Cheese is a heroin-based recreational drug that came to the attention of the media after a string of deaths among adolescents in Dallas beginning in 2005. It is made by combining heroin with crushed tablets of over-the-counter cold medication containing acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and the antihistamine diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl.
Cheese samples obtained in north Dallas contained between 2% and 8% heroin, in contrast to the 30% commonly found in black tar heroin. Users commonly take the powder by insufflation (‘snorting’) rather than by intravenous injection. This mixture is also known as ‘Tylenol With Smack,’ by analogy to the Tylenol With Codeine series. When it appeared in several public middle schools police dubbed the mixture ‘starter heroin.’
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December 15, 2011
Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou. In more recent years, commercial perry has also been referred to as ‘pear cider.’ Perry pears often have higher levels of sugar than cider apples, including unfermentable sugars such as sorbitol, which can give the finished drink a residual sweetness. They also have a very different tannin content to cider apples, with a predominance of astringent over bitter flavors. The presence of sorbitol can give perry a mild laxative effect, seen in the names of some perry pear varieties such as the ‘Lightning Pear’; reputed to go straight through ‘like lightning.’
As with apples specifically grown to make cider, special pear cultivars are used: in the UK the most commonly used variety of perry pear is the Blakeney Red. They produce fruit that is not of eating quality, but that produces superior perry. Like commercial pale lager and commercial cider, commercial perry is highly standardized, and today often contains large quantities of cereal adjuncts such as corn syrup or invert sugar. It is also generally of lower strength, and sweeter, than traditional perry, and is artificially carbonated to give a sparkling finish. However, unlike traditional perry it is a consistent product: the nature of perry pears means that it is very difficult to produce traditional perry in commercial quantities. Traditional perry was overwhelmingly a drink made on farms for home consumption, or to sell in small quantities either at the farm gate or to local inns.
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December 15, 2011
Quadrupel [kwo-droo-puhl] is the brand name of a strong seasonal beer La Trappe Quadrupel brewed by De Koningshoeven Brewery in the Netherlands, the only Trappist brewing abbey not in Belgium. In other countries, particularly the United States, ‘quadrupel’ or ‘quad’ may refer to an especially strong style of dark ale, with a characteristic spicy, ripe fruit flavor.
A quadrupel is intended to be stronger than a Tripel, so the ABV strength will be 10% or more. Beyond that, there is little agreement on the status of Quadrupel as a style. Beer writer Tim Webb notes that similar beers are also called ‘Grand Cru’ (French: ‘Great Growth’) in Belgium and Holland, a term borrowed from winemaking.
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December 15, 2011
A Trappist [trap-ist] beer is a beer brewed by or under control of Trappist monks. There are a total of 174 Trappist monasteries worldwide; only seven (six in Belgium, one in the Netherlands) produce Trappist beer and are authorized to label their beers with the Authentic Trappist Product logo that indicates a compliance to the various rules of the International Trappist Association.
The Trappist order originated in the Cistercian monastery of La Trappe, France. Various Cistercian congregations existed for many years, and by 1664 the Abbot of La Trappe felt that the Cistercians were becoming too liberal. He introduced strict new rules in the abbey and the Strict Observance was born. Since this time, many of the rules have been relaxed. However, a fundamental tenet, that monasteries should be self-supporting, is still maintained by these groups.
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December 14, 2011
Bananadine is a fictional psychoactive substance which is supposedly extracted from banana peels. A hoax recipe for its ‘extraction’ from banana peel was originally published in 1967 in the ‘Berkeley Barb,’ an underground newspaper. It became more widely known when William Powell, believing it to be true, reproduced the method in ‘The Anarchist Cookbook’ in 1970 under the name ‘Musa sapientum Bananadine’ (referring to the banana’s old binomial nomenclature). The original hoax was designed to raise questions about the ethics of making psychoactive drugs illegal and prosecuting those who took them: ‘what if the common banana contained psychoactive properties, how would the government react?’
Researchers at New York University have found that banana peel contains no intoxicating chemicals, and that smoking it produces only a placebo effect. Over the years, there has been considerable speculation regarding the psychoactive properties of banana skins. Donovan’s hit single ‘Mellow Yellow’ was released a few months prior to the ‘Berkeley Barb’ article, and in the popular culture of the era, the song was assumed to be about smoking banana peels.
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December 14, 2011
Strawberry Quik meth is a drug scare from 2007. Drug dealers were allegedly using coloring and flavoring to disguise methamphetamines as Strawberry Quik, thus making them more appealing to children. The story was widely reported in the media, but no cases of children using flavored meth have been verified.
Sometimes meth labs will try to brand their crystal meth product by coloring it in order to make it seem unique and to give it more market appeal. Police and drug enforcement officials have conjectured that the idea for ‘strawberry meth’ may have come from such a process.
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November 29, 2011
Tetrahydrocannabinol [te-truh-hahy-druh-kuh-nab-uh-nawl] (THC), also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), is the main chemical psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. It was first isolated in 1964. In pure form, it is a glassy solid when cold, and becomes viscous and sticky if warmed. An organic chemical (specifically an aromatic terpenoid), with very low solubility in water, but good solubility in most organic solvents (e.g. alcohol, acetone, and butane).
Like most pharmacologically-active plants, THC in cannabis is assumed to be involved in self-defense, perhaps against herbivores. THC also possesses high UV-B absorption properties, which, it has been speculated, could protect the plant from harmful UV radiation exposure. Dronabinol is the generic name of a THC isomer (it has the same number and type of atoms as THC but in a different configuration); it is sold as Marinol (a registered trademark of Solvay Pharmaceuticals).
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November 9, 2011
The term ‘Super Tuscan‘ describes any Tuscan red wine that does not adhere to traditional blending laws for the region. For example, Chianti Classico wines are made from a blend of grapes with Sangiovese as the dominant variety in the blend. Super Tuscans often use other grapes, especially cabernet sauvignon, making them ineligible for classification under the traditional rules.
In 1968 Azienda Agricola San Felice produced the first ever ‘Super Tuscan’ called Vigorello, and in the 1970s Piero Antinori, whose family had been making wine for more than 600 years, also decided to make a richer wine by eliminating the white grapes from the Chianti blend, and instead adding Bordeaux varietals (namely, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot).
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October 13, 2011
Nootropics [no-eh-tro-pik], also referred to as smart drugs or memory enhancers, are drugs that improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration. The word nootropic was coined in 1972 by Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea of Romania, derived from the Greek words nous, or ‘mind,’ and trepein meaning ‘to bend/turn.’
Nootropics are thought to work by altering the availability of the brain’s supply of neurochemicals (neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones), by improving the brain’s oxygen supply, or by stimulating nerve growth. However the efficacy of nootropic substances, in most cases, has not been conclusively determined. This is complicated by the difficulty of defining and quantifying cognition and intelligence.
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September 22, 2011
Michelada [mee-cha-lah-dah] is a cerveza preparada, a Mexican term for beer mixed with tomato juice, hot sauce, or salsa. In English-speaking countries, it would be considered a variety of shandy (a beer mixed with soda, carbonated lemonade, or cider. The Michelada is made with beer, tomato juice (or Clamato), lime juice, and assorted sauces, spices, and peppers. It is served in a chilled, salt-rimmed glass.
In Mexico, Micheladas are considered a good remedy for hangovers.There are different types of variations of Micheladas; for example in Mexico City, the most common form of a Michelada is prepared with beer, lime, salt, and hot sauce/or chili. Some add slices of orange.
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